MEMPHIS, Tenn.- Owners of Kimbrough Liquor say a group of fast-moving thieves were after high-end items when they broke into their store early Friday morning and knew exactly where to find them.
“It looked like they had shopped or been in the store,” said Claudia Bertrand, one of the owners.
Memphis Police said several males pulled up to the store on Union Avenue in stolen cars around 3:30 a.m. and used a sledgehammer to break in through the front door.
In the store’s surveillance video, you can see them filling up laundry baskets with liquor. Bertrand said they went straight to a locked case full of pricey products.
“Ace of Spades, there was expensive tequila,” Bertrand said.
They also took cognac and cases of Jack Daniels. Bertrand said they are still totaling everything up but believe the thieves got away with $5,0000 -$6,000 worth of alcohol.
“It’s very frustrating. Obviously, we are grateful there were no customers or employees involved,” she said.
Two hours before the Kimbrough Liquor burglary, a group of thieves carrying laundry baskets took around $4,000 worth of merchandise from Natalie’s Liquor in Cordova.
We asked police if the two incidents were connected, and they said it’s undetermined at this time and the investigation is ongoing.
“The police told us they hit three places in one night,” Bertrand said.
Bertrand said their store had been hit by burglars at least twice a year since they bought it six years ago. She said they just fixed their front door after someone accidentally drove through it, and now they will have to repair it again.
“What are we supposed to do? We have bars on the windows. We try to stop it, but if there’s a will, there’s a way,” Bertrand said.
Police said the burglars were driving a white Infiniti with temporary tags and a gray 2-door Kia sedan with no tags.
If you have any information that can help investigators, call Crime Stoppers at 901-528-CASH.